A 51-year-old man visiting Canada on a temporary visa has been convicted of criminally harassing two teenage girls near a Sarnia high school. He will be deported to India and permanently barred from returning.
Jagjit Singh, who had been staying in the Sarnia area to visit his newborn grandchild, was handed a short jail sentence on Wednesday before Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski.
“You had no business attending the property of that high school,” the judge said.
“This type of conduct will not be tolerated.”
Singh arrived in Canada in July on a six-month visa but began frequenting the smoking area outside a Sarnia high school between 8 and 11 September. During that period, he approached female students, attempted to take photos with them and placed himself in their personal space.
According to police and court evidence cited by Toronto Sun, one girl reluctantly agreed to a photo, hoping he would leave, but Singh sat between her and a friend and gestured for another picture. He then put his arm around her, prompting her to stand up and push him away.
Sarnia police said they received multiple complaints on 15 September about a man approaching girls near the school, making unsolicited and inappropriate comments, including about drugs and alcohol, and asking them to pose for photos. Investigators found that he had begun following students after school, and on one occasion intentionally groped a female student, who later reported the incident.
Police identified and arrested Singh the next day. He was initially charged with sexual interference and sexual assault, granted bail, rearrested after another complaint, and later granted bail again. Singh, who does not speak English, spent additional nights in custody due to the unavailability of an interpreter.
In court on Wednesday, Singh pleaded not guilty to sexual interference but guilty to the lesser offence of criminal harassment. Both the Crown and defence sought a sentence of nine days’ time served and three years’ probation, noting that he will be deported.
His lawyer, Terry Brandon, said Singh found his time in custody “shocking” and that Canada Border Services Agency officers were waiting in court to take him into immigration custody. Singh had been due to return to India on 30 December but is now seeking an earlier flight.
As per the Toronto Sun, the victim impact statements read in court described the emotional toll on the girls. One said the incident “robbed her of her sense of safety” and left her intimidated around older men, including those of Singh’s ethnicity. The other said her mental health had deteriorated and that she no longer felt safe in public.
Brandon said Singh “appreciates how his behaviour impacted these young women”.
Under his three-year probation order, Singh is banned from contacting the girls or approaching places where they live, study or work. He is also prohibited from speaking to anyone under 16, except his grandchild, and must stay at least 100 metres away from schools, pools, playgrounds, parks and community centres.
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